Face the State

Face The State Staff Report

August 8th Update: With primaries less than a week away, contested partisan races have seen money pour in. Third parties are stepping up involvement in local races, and hard hitting 527 mail is showing up in mailboxes around the state. Meanwhile, candidates are trying to max out their donor lists and hit as many houses as possible before Election Day.

Senate District 8

Rep. Al White, R-Hayden v. Former Steamboat Springs City Council President Ken Brenner

To learn more about this race click here, here or here.

Senate District 14

Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins v. Republican challenger and activist Matt Fries

Bacon is seeing thousands of dollars roll in from his favorite union, the Poudre Education Association, but as Face The State recently reported, there could be some voter backlash against unions this election cycle.

Senate District 16

Sen. Dan Gibbs, D-Silvertorne v. challenger Republican businessman Don Ytterberg

Ytterberg mail is coming soon to a mailbox near you. He spent nearly $9,000 on mailings and campaign fodder over the last two weeks of July. In contrast, Gibbs didn't spend a dime and enjoyed contributions from organized labor.

Senate District 17

Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont v. Republican challenger Katie Witt

For more information on this race click here, here or here.

Senate District 19

Republican Businesswoman & GOP activist Libby Szabo v. Democrat State Board of Education member Evie Hudak

Hudak spent $8,500 on polling this cycle. Meanwhile, Szabo laid low on spending, while expending tremendous physical resources on an active door-to-door campaign. Heavy hitting mail and third party involvment are also starting to play in this district. To learn more, click here.

Senate District 21

Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood v. Republican activist Natalie Menten

To learn more about this race click here, here or here.

Senate District 23

Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, v. DU law student and Army Vet Joe Whitcomb

Whitcomb also spent $8,500 on polling this cycle and has been appearing on local radio stations, while Mitchell focused his efforts the last few weeks on fundraising. To learn more click here.

Senate District 26

Republican and former state Rep. Lauri Clapp OR fellow Republican Jerry Call v. Democrat Linda Newell

For more information on this race click here or here.

Senate District 28

Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, v. Republican Sueyuana Duthie

Williams saw a $4,000 cash infusion from the local fire fighters union but kept her spending to a minimum. Duthie has been appearing at community events and trying to raise her name recognition on the grassroots level. To learn more click here.

House Districts to Watch
 

House District 27

Rep. Sara Gagliardi, D-Arvada v. Republican John Bodnar

Bodnar has been out raised nearly 5-to-1 in this race, but that hasn't stopped him from distributing yard signs all over this suburban district the past few weeks. While Gagliardi has union money on her side, Bodnar will likely benefit from a Republican registration advantage, but whoever can secure the unaffiliated vote will win this district. To learn more about this race, click here or here.

House District 30

Republican Kevin Priola v. Democrat Dave Rose or Mark Nicastle

To learn more check out this FTS report.

House District 31

Rep. Judy Solano, D-Brighton v. Republican Holly Hansen

To learn more about this race click here.

House District 33

Rep. Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield v. Republican and fiscal conservative Nick Kliebenstein

Spending in this race has been frugal the past few weeks. Primavera enjoyed a contributions from the CAPE SEIU this cycle and the Democratic Women of Boulder county. Both candidates are focused on going door-to-door and trying to win over the unaffiliated voters, who make up the largest group of registered voters in this district. To learn more click here.

House District 37

Rep. Spencer Swalm, R-Littleton v. Democrat Diana Holland

Swalm raked in nearly $5,000 from grassroots contributions this cycle, while Holland shelled out cash for yard signs and staff. To learn more click here.

House District 38

Rep. Joe Rice, D-Littleton v. Republican and Greenwood Village City Councilman Dave Kerber

Rice tapped his donor list this cycle and raised $7,251. He went on the spend about a third of that on yard signs and staffing. Kerber, on the other hand, is keeping his spending low and trying to gain more fundraising momentum. To learn more about this race, click here.

House District 39

Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial v. Democrat Mollie Cullom

As Face The State reported Cullom paid her husband $1,500 for "campaign management" last cycle, but the expense was not repeated this round. When asked about the expense James Cullom told FTS, "it is not the right time to talk about the finances of the campaign.” Meanwhile, Balmer's cash on hand has been hovering over $100,000, making him one of the state's top fundraisers.

House District 50

Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley v. Republican Scott Helman

To learn more about this race and its candidates click here or here.

House District 52

Rep. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins v. Republican and former Rep. Bob McCluskey

To read more on this race click here, here or here.

House District 55

Rep. Bernie Buescher, R-Grand Junction v. Republican Businesswoman Laura Bradford

After raising over $33,000 this cycle, Buescher spent $45,000 on campaign advertising. This is the first big move his campaign has made, but it is not going to be the last. Rumored to be the next speaker of the house, Buescher is poised to do whatever it takes to keep his seat in this strong Republican district. Bradford is running her campaign on a much smaller budget and relying on yard signs and mail to get out her message. Read more about this race here.

House District 56

Rep. Christine Scanlan, D-Dillion v. Republican challenger Ali Hasan

After last cycle Hasan was running a little low on cash, so he gave his campaign $35,000, which he promptly spent on more advertising. Hasan has "raised" a total of $171,146.30, more than any other candidate running for the state House or Senate. To learn more about Hasan and his advertising campaign click here.

House District 62

A primary between Democrats Ed Vigil, a county commissioner, and Dr. Rocky White, will determine who will run against Republican Randy Jackson

With the August primary less than a week away Vigil is throwing all he's got at beating the liberal Dr. White. He spent almost all his money on campaign brochures, robo calls and advertising. Jackson's campaign has also started to gear up and has been investing heavily in mail and campaign fodder. To read more about this race check out this FTS report.

House District 64

Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh v. Republican Ken Torres

With both candidates struggling to figure out Colorado's campaign finance laws, the actual campaigning in this district has been minimal. Torres has struggled to bank campaign cash, and McKinley had for a significant period failed to file reports. The Secretary of State levied a $7,000 fine on his campaign for the error. To read more on this race, click here, here or here.
 

House Primaries to keep an eye on:

House District 6

Republicans: Joshua Sharf (petitioned on to primary ballot) v. Rima Sinclair
Democrats: Liz Adams (Top line on primary ballot) v. Lois Court v. Josh Hanfling

With three Democrats and two Republicans vying to replace term-limited Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff, this district has been a hub of activity. After August 12, however, these five candidates will be narrowed down to just two.

House District 15

Rep. Doug Bruce, R-Colorado Springs v. fellow Republican Mark Waller (Top line on primary ballot)

Always one to break the mold, Bruce appears to be exclusively self-funding his campaign, and hasn't even gone to the trouble to creating a campaign committee to receive contributions. Instead, he files with the Secretary of State statements of personal expenditures. In all, Bruce has dropped a relatively large sum of his own funds on his race, spending $31,693.10 since October 2007.

House District 57

Republican Randy Baumgardner v. Republican Daniel Korkowski (Winner will run against Democrat Robert Hagenbuch)

FTS Note: All voter registration figures above are as of April 2008.